The Secret that Lies Within
by Ami the QEFM
Summary: A VERY unlikely romance (i've never seen one with these characters before), a little angsty, with sprinkles of drama and humor here and there (cripes, now i sound like Martha Stewart, *perky voice* just add some nutmeg and flour and it's fanfiction!).


The Secret that Lies Within  
by Ami the Queen of the Evil Flying Monkeys  
  
~*~  
  
Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at something serious, so please don't be too harsh! Anywho, I own none of the characters mentioned here except Audrey Plossome and Elizabeth Alabastor. Please don't take my characters without permission, if you only ask I will let you use them if you like. One last thing, Plossome is pronounced "plus-som" (like inSOMnia, the "o" is long.), and Audrey, of course, is "Aw-dree".   
  
A/N- Many thanks to my wonderful beta reader, CharNorse!  
  
~*~  
  
No one expected much that particular day. It was cold, of course, it was November, and all the students were bundled up in multiple cloaks and huddled around fireplaces sipping hot cocoa and, in some cases, coffee.   
  
"But Jones has the best save averages in all of England, and Masterson has a stupendous aim!" Ron insisted. Harry shook his head, he would never get Ron to shut up now, he had mistakenly insulted the Cannons.  
  
"Ron, will you kindly shut up? I have three scrolls of parchment to write tonight for Astronomy and you're breaking my concentration!" Hermione interrupted, looking up from a particularly thick book that was spread out on the table before her. Ron looked slightly abashed, but closed his mouth for the time being.  
  
Harry smiled and watched Hermione and Ron continue to bicker over nothing in particular.   
  
"Do you two make a sport of disagreeing? If that's what you're doing, you are doing a bang-up job of it." Harry said, stopping all argument between the two immediately. Hermione and Ron both pulled faces at Harry and turned back to what they were doing.  
  
~*Two hours later*~  
  
"Hey, the rain's stopped! Let's go outside!" a first-year cried happily, dashing toward the portrait-hole.  
  
"How long do you think it'll take to stop him?" Ron whispered to Harry. Harry had just opened his mouth to reply when the portrait-hole banged open again. There stood a very angry-looking Argus Filch, holding the first-year by the scruff of his neck, as if he were a dog.   
  
"I won't have mud on my clean floors!" Filch bellowed, dropping the first-year and watching him with cruel delight as the poor little one sprawled across the floor, picked himself up foolishly, and dashed up to his dormitory.  
  
~*~  
  
"Nasty little buggers, aren't they, Mrs.Norris?" Filch said, still stormy in mood from the encounter with the first-year. Mrs.Norris meowed a reply and rubbed against his legs.   
  
"Yes, some day we'll fix them all. Some day we will." Filch replied to his cat, picking up his weather-torn mop and starting off down the hall to clean up the mess the Hufflepuff Quidditch team had just tracked in.  
  
~*~  
  
"But Professor Dumbledore, I don't know anything about Divination!" a young woman's voice insisted from inside Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Miss, or should I say, Professor Plossome, you will simply have to learn. Sibyl has fallen ill and will not return for a month at least, and we need a substitute. Professor Binns will show you to your room." Dumbledore said kindly, smiling at the lady sitting before him. Two long, auburn braids wound their way around her head, encircling it like two fiery serpents. Her eyes were deep blue, the color of the ocean in midsummer.  
  
"This way, Audrey." Professor Binns called to her, drifting down the winding staircase. Audrey Plossome took one last look at Professor Dumbledore, who was still smiling gently, and lifted her small frame out of the chair, reluctantly following Professor Binns's ghostly apparition just ahead of her.  
  
~*~  
  
"Harry...Ron...Hermione..." Fred Weasley called from afar the very next day, looking slightly winded. He had just sprinted the entire length of the Quidditch field, where the Gryffindor Quidditch team was practicing on the still-soggy ground. Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned toward the sound of his voice, and were surprised to see him looking so happy. They watched his every move warily, Fred was never this happy unless he was planning to do something or had already done it.  
  
"There's a new professor!" Fred said, still trying to catch his breath and failing miserably.  
  
"What? We already have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Who else do we need to replace?" Hermione asked, looking at Fred suspiciously.  
  
"Trelawney, Snape, Binns..." Ron said, ticking off the names on his fingers.  
  
"Trelawney." Fred replied, smirking and nodding. Harry and Ron's eyes widened.  
  
"You aren't serious. I've dreamed of this for months now." Harry said, searching Fred's eyes for any telltale signs of bluffing. There were none.  
  
"Who is it?" Hermione asked, suddenly curious at the new information.  
  
"Some woman named Plossome, I think. I haven't heard much about her." Fred replied, shaking his head.  
  
~*~  
  
"Great, where is my trunk?" Audrey Plossome said to herself, frustrated. Nothing was where she had placed it when she had come to Hogwarts the day before, and she strongly suspected someone had searched her belongings.   
  
She shuffled around her small room, scowling and wondering how on earth she was going to pull this off. She didn't know the foggiest thing about Divination, and had no idea what she would do for the next month. From past experiences, she knew it wasn't easy being the new Professor around, especially as a substitute. Her relatively short twenty-seven years had given her just enough experience to know this for a fact.  
  
"Apparatus!" she said plainly, waving her wand a bit. A stream of white light came from the tip of her cherrywood wand, and her trunk appeared before her. She opened the top, searching for her dress robes.   
  
"Aaagh!" she let out a short scream, watching something wriggle around inside her favorite midnight-blue robes. A small snake squirmed out of her trunk, and Audrey blasted it to smithereens. She didn't take kindly to snakes of any kind, live or dead.  
  
It was going to be a long month.  
  
~*~  
  
"Albus, do you really think this is wise?" Professor McGonagall insisted, watching her students goggle at Professor Plossome, their dinners long forgotten. Professor Plossome was staring blankly at her pudding, not knowing what to say or do. She was getting very fidgety under all the stares she was receiving.   
  
"Minerva, I'm positive. Miss Plossome just needs some time to adjust." Dumbledore said wisely, eating his roast pork.  
  
"But she's so young and inexperienced.." McGonagall persisted, eyeing the newcomer with interest.   
  
"She's not as inexperienced as you think. Do you know where she came from?" Dumbledore asked, turning to look at McGonagall, who was still watching Plossome.  
  
"No, but I've heard talk of somewhere in America." McGonagall said, prying her gaze away.  
  
"Irishunter Institute." Dumbledore replied solemnly. McGonagall's eyes widened to abnormal size, looking at Dumbledore, then Plossome, and back many times.  
  
"She taught at Irishunter? Poor dear, she must be tougher than she looks. I've only heard rumors about that place, but they've all been terrible." McGonagall said, sympathetic. She watched as Plossome took another cautious bite of her pudding, inspecting it carefully before putting it into her mouth, as if she expected it to be poisoned.  
  
~*~  
  
"Parvati, any news of the new Professor yet?" Hermione asked her roommate after dinner, pulling her robes over her head and changing into her pajamas. This was a very rare instance, she avoided talking with the gossiping girl unless she was in need of information. That was the good thing about Parvati, she was usually the first to know of any news.  
  
"Well I heard Terry Boot asked Hannah Abbot to the ball..." Parvati said, trailing off her conversation with Lavendar and turning to face Hermione.  
  
"She's from Irishunter Institute, and she's American. That's all I know." Parvati completed, turning back to Lavendar and continuing her gossiping flawlessly.  
  
Hermione raised her eyebrows. This new Professor must be extremely secretive, if even Parvati hadn't dug up a ton of gossip about her.  
  
~*~  
  
"Come, my pretty. We have detentions to watch over." Filch said, grinning devilishly, as if he got some secret pleasure from punishing students.  
  
Filch slinked his way down the corridor, Mrs.Norris in pursuit. He reached the entrance hall quickly, thanks to one of his favorite secret passages. Sure enough, a shaking second-year and two familiar seventh-years were waiting for him. The second-year looked as if she would faint at any given second, while the two seventh-years grinned confidently, very familiar with the word 'detention'.  
  
"Alabastor, Weasley, Weasley. What did you do this time?" Filch said, looking down at the students with disgust.   
  
"I was tardy to Professor Snape's class, twice." the still-shaking second-year replied meekly.  
  
"We put dungbombs in the Prefects bathroom." Fred said, grinning. George nodded, wearing a grin identical to Fred's.   
  
Filch snorted disapprovingly, and motioned for the students to follow him. He trudged along, lecturing them harshly, the second-year still looking sickly pale, and Fred and George bouncing along without a care in the world. It didn't take long for the small group to reach Hagrid's hut, and Filch reluctantly knocked on the door, debating internally about giving up such a lovely opportunity to lecture the students.  
  
The door swung open, and much to Filch's surprise, Hagrid did not answer. In his place was a newcomer with long, loose red hair and blue eyes. Filch did not often go to dinner, too many students around for his comfort, and had not heard much of the new Professor, and had assumed the Professor to be a male.   
  
"Hello, may I help you?" the young lady said, smiling sweetly at the students, who stood, goggling at her, behind Filch.  
  
"Um, I'm here for detention.. no, I have students who must serve their detention. Where is Hagrid?" Filch replied, still eyeing the woman suspiciously, "Who are you?"  
  
"I am Professor Plossome, but since you are apparently the welcoming committee, you may call me Professor Plossome." Professor Plossome said, grinning mischeviously, looking surprisingly like the Weasley twins when she smiled, "And who, may I ask, are you?"  
  
"Argus Filch, caretaker of Hogwarts, Professor Plossome." Filch replied, still staring at Plossome as if she had three eyes and two noses.  
  
"Well come in, come in. Hagrid, they're here!" Plossome said, ushering the students in, and rushing into the hut to find Hagrid.  
  
The students stepped into the hut, Fred and George looking perfectly at home, and the second-year peering around at the giant-sized bed and chairs around her.  
  
"'Ello, Fred, George... Elizabeth?" Hagrid said, sitting down in a chair at the table.  
  
"Hello Hagrid." Fred and George replied, the second-year chiming in as well.  
  
"Audrey, can you get the flobberworms for me?" Hagrid said, and Professor Plossome nodded, stepping outside momentarily, and returning quickly, carrying a huge plastic tub of some kind.  
  
Filch stood awkwardly in the corner, watching Hagrid and Audrey give instructions to the students.  
  
"Now, you take one flobberworm and the wet rag, and clean off as much dirt as you can. Then dry them gently and put them in this other box." Plossome explained, demonstrating how to properly wash a flobberworm, but leaving her sleeves down to hang in the water basin.  
  
"Er, I suppose I should be going now." Filch said, still feeling awkward, heading for the door.  
  
"Goodbye." Hagrid replied, raising an eyebrow at Filch. Hagrid had never seen Filch leave so quickly whenever detentions were to be served. Audrey turned away from her flobberworms momentarily and gave a small wave. Filch felt his heart give an odd leap, and left, feeling strangely satisfied.  
  
~*~  
  
"Remember, watch out for her, she might be up to something." Hermione instructed Harry and Ron as they headed down the corridor the next morning. Hermione was giving Harry and Ron orders because she couldn't keep an eye on the new professor herself, she had quit Divination and had no intention of returning.  
  
"Yes, Herm. You've told us that a million times since breakfast, we'll watch out. Bye." Harry sighed, turning right and starting up the long, winding stairs to Divination as Hermione continued down the corridor alone.  
  
Harry and Ron ascended into the North tower via the silver ladder, as they had done many times before, and instantly noticed something missing. The usually nauseating, overbearing scent of incense had vanished, and many veils had been taken down, letting the November sunshine smile brightly into the room. The smoke had been cleared out, and the tables and chairs polished, and the cushions had been scrubbed and fluffed.   
  
"Hello class, please take a seat, I'll be with you shortly." a woman's voice called from behind a cabinet.  
  
Harry and Ron sat down at an empty table, craning their necks, as was the rest of the class, to see their new teacher.  
  
"Where is she?" Ron whispered, stilling peering around for a glimpse of the professor.  
  
As if in response to Ron's question, a head popped out of the large cupboard next to Parvati. Parvati screamed, and jumped up, startled. The head laughed good-naturedly, and jumped out of the cupboard, attached to a small, spritely body.  
  
"I'm sorry if I frightened you, I couldn't find thebook I needed. Hello, I am Professor Plossome, and I will be filling in for Professor Trelawney for the next month." the woman said, giving a small bow of her head in apology to Parvati, who was still looking at her with utter shock.  
  
The first thing Harry noticed about her was her hair. It was dark red and very long, winding in two braids around her head. Somehow, it reminded Harry of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.  
  
"Now, where were you in your books?" Plossome asked, picking up a copy of Unfogging the Future, volume five and opening it. "Here we are, Omens and Mythological meanings. Okay, what does a firebird sighting mean?"  
  
~*1 hour later, in the Great Hall*~  
  
"That's it? Nothing else happened?" Hermione asked disbelievingly, watching Harry eat his sandwich nonchalantly.  
  
"Well, Parvati and Morag Macdougal were paired together and had a huge fight, but other than that, it was just an average class." Ron answered.   
  
"She seems pretty nice, Hermione. Give her a chance." Harry said, turning to face Hermione, who was still looking suspiciously at Professor Plossome.  
  
~*~  
  
"Audrey, you idiot. Why did you come here? You don't need the work, so why?" Audrey Plossome questioned herself, sitting on her bed in her small room. "Because you couldn't stand the loneliness, the silence, one moment longer." a small voice in her head replied, startling her with its frankness.  
  
~*~  
  
Dumbledore sat in his study, observing two people through an enchanted hand mirror. One young, full of vitality and spirit, and one older, wiser, and terribly bitter.  
  
"What do you think, Fawkes, will they do?" Dumbledore said, turning to his pet and holding up the mirror. Fawkes let out a low note, and continued to preen his wing feathers.  
  
"Vain old bird." Dumbledore said, smiling for more than one reason.  
  
~*~  
  
Two weeks went by uneventfully, Audrey had settled comfortably into Hogwarts and had finally learned her way around the corridors, when something unbelievable happened.  
  
"Students, Professors, I have an announcement." Dumbledore announced one morning during breakfast. Harry looked up from his omelet, curious at what Dumbledore could be up to.  
  
"I have decided that it is beginning to get too dull around here, so I have initiated a contest. A sort of Scavenger hunt, for both students and teachers. It will be held for two days, this Saturday and Sunday. Each team of two will be given a list of clues to follow, and the first team to return to the Great Hall with every item on their list will be awarded a prize. In all fairness, I will allow the students a half-hour head start on the teachers, so the students will begin at 3:30 PM and the faculty will begin at 4:00 PM." Dumbledore completed, his eyes twinkling.  
  
A midst of chatter started up the moment the last word left Dumbledore's lips. A contest? What would the prize be? Many questions raced through each aspiring student's head as they paired themselves up for the contest. Harry and Hermione agreed to work together, while Ron, searching for a partner, found Ginny alone, so the brother-and-sister team was initiated.  
  
The teachers table had a nearly opposite reaction.  
  
"A scavenger hunt? What does he think we are, baby-sitters?" Snape sneered.  
  
Audrey, on the other hand, was thrilled.  
  
"Poppy, will you be my partner?" Plossome turned to Madame Pomfrey hopefully.  
  
"Sorry M'dear, I'm partnered with Madame Hooch already." Pomfrey responded, shaking her head apologetically.  
  
"Minerva? Hagrid? Flitwick? Vector?" Audrey pleaded, but each had an excuse or another partner. Even Snape had been partnered, though against his will, with Professor Binns, who was floated rather morbidly next to Snape, wearing a look of disgust on his pale, ghostly face. Apparently he didn't enjoy the pairing much either.  
  
Audrey went down the entire table, asking everyone in turn, each time receiving the same reaction. Her spirits were rather low when she reached the end of the table, and only one person was left, possibly the person she least wanted to be paired with. Argus Filch and his wretched cat. She had heard many horror stories from her beloved students about how mean Filch was, and she had overheard him lecturing the Weasley twins and Elizabeth Alabastor the night she had helped Hagrid with detentions.  
  
Audrey took a deep breath, and began, rather reluctantly, "Will you be my partner?"  
  
Filch looked up, and seeing who it was, looked shocked, "Yes."  
  
~*~  
  
Filch sat in his small, grubby office, still surprised by the evening's turn of events. For her first few weeks Filch had been positive that Audrey Plossome despised him, but her proposition earlier suggested otherwise. Perhaps it was just an act of desperation, perhaps not. Only time would tell, time that he did not want to wait for.  
  
~*~  
  
~Two days later, the morning of the Scavenger Hunt.~  
  
"Where is my bag?!"   
  
"Someone stole my toothpaste!"  
  
"My lucky socks, where are they? Who stole my lucky socks?!"  
  
"No look at Dobby, Wheezy, Dobby no take Wheezy's socks."  
  
"Dobby! Those are my socks, give them back! Aaaaaargh!"  
  
"Neville, get your toad out of my bed!"  
  
"Okay, Seamus. Trevor, Trevor? No! Not in the toilet!"  
  
~*~  
  
Harry and Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table at breakfast, Hermione discussing strategy, Harry just trying to suppress the butterflies threatening to pop out his throat. Ron, on the other hand, looked cool and collected, smiling at Hermione mysteriously. Ginny sat at the other end of the table with two other girls from her year and Colin Creevey.  
  
"Ron, what are you up to?" Hermione said, finally taking notice of Ron's confidence.  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all." Ron said, wearing a grin that suggested otherwise.  
  
~*~  
  
Audrey Plossome wore a sneer, staring down at her oatmeal as if it was Voldemort himself. She was not in the best of demeanors, for obvious reasons.  
  
"I just hope he doesn't bring that damn cat of his." she attempted to comfort herself, but failed miserably at it. As if in response to her question, Filch strode in at that second, and much to Audrey's delight Mrs.Norris was nowhere in sight.  
  
Audrey brightened at the absence of the scrawny animal, and pretended to be fascinated with her oatmeal as Filch approached her and sat down in the unoccupied chair beside her.  
  
"Ahem." Filch said, clearing his throat in hopes that she would strike up a conversation. She didn't.  
  
"So, how are you this morning?" Filch asked, feeling like an idiot.  
  
"Fine." Audrey mumbled a response, still staring down at her oatmeal.  
  
"I hate oatmeal." Audrey complained, feeling very dissatisfied, pushing away her plate of oatmeal.  
  
"You shouldn't judge anything before you even know what it's like." Filch suggested, causing Audrey to raise an eyebrow at him.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all."  
  
~*~  
  
"Okay students, here are your lists of clues, go!" Dumbledore said, motioning to Madame Hooch and Madame Pomfrey, who were passing out scrolls of parchment to each pair.  
Dumbledore withdrew his wand from his sleeve and sent a shower of brilliant green sparks into the air, signifying the beginning of the contest.   
  
"Small and rustic, here I stand, waiting here with your command; When you reach me touch the sky, just above me twelve feet high." Hermione read aloud, pondering over the clue.  
  
"Hagrid's hut!" Harry exclaimed, dashing off toward the forbidden forest.  
  
~*~One Hour Later~*~  
  
"On your marks, go!" Dumbledore said, passing out the same scrolls of parchment to the participating professors and watching them ponder the first clue. Audrey, who had always been very good at logic puzzles and things of that sort, figured it out within seconds and drug Argus down to Hagrid's hut.  
  
"Now what?" Audrey pondered aloud, rereading the clue for the tenth time, standing in front of Hagrid's hut. "Twelve feet high.."  
  
"The pumpkins?" Filch asked, pointing out a particularly large pumpkin that was almost taller than the hut itself.  
  
"Yes, yes! That's perfect!" Audrey said, running toward the pumpkin and scrambling up to the top with Filch's assistance.   
  
"Where I am I do not know, in the place with continuing snow." Audrey read aloud, rolling each syllable over her tongue.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hermione, I don't think this is the right place. Where's the snow?" Harry said, looking around the grassy valley.  
  
"But it has to be here, it has to be!" Hermione said, hunting around in the grass.   
  
"What?" Harry asked, looking doubtful.  
  
"This!" Hermione said, holding up a large snowglobe triumphantly.  
  
"That? What is that for?" Harry asked, still in the dark as to what Hermione meant.  
  
"This is our clue! The place with continuing snow, watch." Hermione said, turning the snowglobe over and turning the small scene inside into a blizzard.  
  
"But where is the clue, how did you know where to find it?" Harry asked, marveling at Hermione's genius.  
  
"Remember when Hagrid brought us out here to show us the baby Manticore? He pointed this meadow out on the way, and said it was the only place in the world the globe elves live." Hermione said matter-of-factly, turning over the globe and plucking the small, neatly folded piece of paper off the bottom with their initials on it.  
  
"What does it say?" Harry asked, leaning in to read the clue with Hermione.  
  
~*~  
  
Audrey trekked along the winding path, pondering, and completely ignoring Filch, who was following her.  
  
"Is this it?" Audrey asked no one in particular, looking out over a grassy valley.  
  
She strode over to a large oak tree, and bent down, studying the ground.  
  
"Here it is!" she said, holding up a snowglobe for Filch to see. She plucked a small, folded piece of paper off the bottom and read it silently.  
  
"What is it?" Filch asked, craning his neck to read the paper.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ron, somehow I don't think this is the right place." Ginny said, looking around from the high altitude.  
  
"Hush Gin, I'm listening." Ron said, shushing his little sister and listening intently.  
  
"Lavendar, is this it?" Parvati Patil's voice carried over the hill quickly. Ron sat on a large boulder, poised and ready for action. As soon as he could see the top of Parvati's head, he threw a bag of dungbombs at their feet. The noise they made was terrific, and Parvati and Lavendar shot off like bullets away from the foul smell. Ron laughed aloud, then took Ginny by the wrist and drug her away before they were nauseated by the stench.  
  
~*~  
  
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Filch called ahead to Audrey's retreating form.  
  
"Positive, just follow me." Audrey replied over her shoulder, continuing along at her normal brisk pace, lugging her knapsack up the steep hill.  
  
A few minutes later, they stood upon a high boulder, surveying the beautiful, rolling hills surrounding them.  
  
"There. Boggart's Cliff." Audrey said, pointing straight ahead at a high cliff stretching out over the landscape, jutting out of the Earth's surface jaggedly.  
  
Without warning, Audrey slung her knapsack over her shoulder and headed off in the direction of the apprehensive shadow of the cliff.  
  
~*~30 minutes later, on the top of Boggart's Cliff~*~  
  
"Here's the clue!" Audrey said, dashing towards a piece of paper that lay, flapping in the gusty winds, on a large rock. Just as she grabbed the rock, she let loose with a horrific scream and pounced back.  
  
Audrey convulsed for a few seconds, then pointed out something barely visible on the ground to a very puzzled Argus Filch. A rather large, gray-speckled snake was coiling and uncoiling itself on the stone face, blending in perfectly with its surroundings.  
  
Filch's eyes grew very large, and he took a few steps back, distancing himself from the snake as much as the narrow cliff would allow. Audrey suddenly snapped out of her trance and raised her wand.  
  
"Riddikulus!" Plossome roared, pointing her wand at the snake and causing it to glow white and turn to Argus. The boggart shifted shapes and suddenly became a sheet of paper, floating in midair. Audrey stood, puzzled by the boggart's unusual form, before blasting it again, this time finishing it off.  
  
"What was that?" Audrey asked, causing Filch to blush.  
  
"None of your business." Filch said, blushing deeper and turning away.   
  
Audrey shrugged and returned to her search for the clue. It didn't take long to notice a second sheet of parchment, this time tied to a single branch on a small, scraggly-looking tree.   
  
"Riddikulus!" Audrey said, sending white sparks at the paper, checking it for boggarts. There were none, and after restoring the paper, Audrey bent down to read it, sitting with her legs dangling over the cliff ever-so-slightly.   
  
"What does it say?" Argus asked, sitting down beside her.  
  
"We have to go to Lilac Valley, over there." Audrey said, pointing to a small dot of purple off in the distance, scarcely visible in the twilight.   
  
"Now?" Argus asked, just beginning to feel the effects of the long hikes on his back. Audrey smiled mischievously at Argus's tired appearance.  
  
"What's wrong, don't you want to take another ten mile hike?" Audrey said, grinning.  
  
"No thank you, I like it right here." Argus said, returning the smile and turning to watch the sunset.  
  
"It's so beautiful here. It's amazing how the sky can be so many colors at once. My father used to tell me the angels in Heaven used the sky as a canvas, and this is their best artwork." Audrey said, awestruck, staring up at the multicolored sky.   
  
"I've lived here all my life, and I've never heard a sunset described as exquisitely as you just put it." Argus said, turning his attention from the fading sun to his partner. Her skin seemed to have a glow all its own in the fading daylight.  
  
Audrey could feel his eyes on her, but she pretended not to notice. She didn't want to face it. She had enough problems to worry about, love was the last thing she needed.  
  
~*~  
  
Ginny and Ron had already begun their trek to Lilac Valley when they came upon a nice, secluded clump of trees and decided to settle down for the night. Harry and Hermione stumbled upon them on their way to the Valley as well, so the four combined their resources and made dinner, and soon were fast asleep under the winking stars.  
  
~*~  
  
Just as the sun began to peep over the rolling British hills, Audrey awoke as usual. She was, surprisingly, a morning person, and she began to dress behind a boulder, brush and plait her long auburn hair just as Argus began to stir in his sleeping bag.   
  
"Wake up, we have work to do." Audrey said, pinning up her braids with her favorite hairpins and kicking him lightly in the shoulder. He grumbled a bit, but after a bit more coaxing he complied and arose.   
  
After a quick breakfast, they started their trek down the cliff at a very slow pace. The winds had picked up overnight and there were slight traces of angry-looking thunderheads in the distance.   
  
Without warning, a piercing scream ripped its way out of Audrey's throat as she lost her foothold on the side of the solid rock wall.   
  
"Audrey!" Argus bellowed, nearly falling off the wall himself trying to catch her. He just wasn't quick enough. She landed with a painful thud on a flat, rocky edge, her legs at an unnatural angle and her hands badly scraped. Her braids had come undone, and tendrils of hair were now flying out of them like coppery wire.  
  
Argus scrambled down the cliff with amazing speed and rushed to Audrey, who was still lying unconscious on the ledge. Thinking quickly, he picked her up and carried her down the short remainder of the cliff, running half the way down. Once they were back on solid ground, he found her wand in her robe pocket and managed to send up a few scarlet sparks, praying to God that someone would see them.  
  
~*~  
  
"What is that?" Ron asked, pointing at something over his shoulder.  
  
"Sparks, someone is in trouble!" Hermione said, always being the logical thinker she was.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Harry asked, taking off in a quick run in the direction of the sparks.  
  
~*~  
  
"Oh my God..." Hermione whispered, almost inaudible. She stood between Ron, Harry, and Ginny, who each wore the same look of disbelief as she. Ginny was near tears, and was trembling in her older brother's arms. Harry just stood, almost statue-like, a perfect picture of quiet dignity, with an air of concern and shock. Ron seemed blank, for once having nothing to say on a subject.   
  
They watched as Madame Pomfrey covered up Professor Plossome with a sheet, attempting to cover her badly mauled body before the other students could arrive. Both of the latter's legs were twisted at odd, irregular angles, and her face was extremely pale, almost the color of newfallen snow. Her eyes were opened slightly, but instead of having their usual twinkle, they were now cold and blank, as if her very soul had been sucked out of them.   
  
~*~  
  
"I've killed her. I've killed her!" Filch repeated over and over, pacing around his office like a wild animal in a cage. "Mrs.Norris, do you realize what I've DONE?! I've KILLED her! Taken a young life, my chance at happiness, GONE!"  
  
Filch continued to pace nervously around his office, a mixture of anger and sorrow apparent on his face. He threw papers, slammed doors, and overturned a file cabinet, but nothing could fill the emptiness inside him. Nothing, except one lost soul.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hmmmm....wh-where, where am I?" Audrey stirred ever so slightly. Moments before she had been floating in a black velvet space, warm and comfortable. Now, a stream of intense light was bearing down on her eyelashes, causing her to squint and try to shield her eyes. When she attempted to do so, her arms just lay on the bed like two helpless lumps of flesh, refusing to cooperate with her. A searing pain was ripping through her legs, and she whimpered softly.  
  
"Audrey? AUDREY! SHE'S ALIVE!" Madame Pomfrey cried, a look of joy spread across her wide face.   
  
"Poppy, did someone spike your pumpkin juice today? Of course I'm alive." Audrey said, raising her eyebrows at the overjoyed nurse. "Agh, can you turn off that dratted light and help me up?" Audrey complained as Madame Pomfrey shined a light in her eyes and continued to examine her.  
  
"Of course, of course. Take this." Pomfrey nodded, handing Audrey a bottle of a nasty purplish liquid and a teaspoon.  
  
"Ugh, what is this stuff? How much do I take?" Audrey asked, sneering at the medicine.  
  
"Two spoonfuls, dear, and you probably don't want to know what's in it." Pomfrey replied lightheartedly, making the first joke Audrey had ever heard her tell.  
  
"Where is everyone? Did I miss my classes?" Audrey asked, swallowing a spoonful of the medicine and grimacing at the atrocious taste.  
  
"Right now, they should be in the Great Hall eating lunch, and you only missed your morning class." Pomfrey replied, fluffing a pillow and placing it under Audrey's head. "Now get some rest, perhaps you can leave tomorrow."   
  
"Tomorrow?" Audrey asked, sighing and leaning back into the soft, sweet-smelling sheets.  
  
~*~  
  
"Is she going to be all right?" Professor Dumbledore asked, peering through the curtains surrounding Audrey's bed. Audrey stirred in her sleep, but did not wake up from her slumber.  
  
"Yes, Professor. She should be ready tomorrow." Pomfrey answered, "Will she stay much longer?"  
  
"No, I'm afraid not, Poppy." Dumbledore replied, and after taking one last look at the sleeping Plossome, left the room without any explanation. Pomfrey watched him go, wondering what he meant.  
  
~*~  
  
"Fawkes, what do you think?" Dumbledore asked, sitting in a chair in his study, watching Fawkes preen himself. Fawkes fluffed up his feathers and let out a low note. "We must do something, her life is in jeopardy if we don't."   
  
~*~  
  
"Hmmmm." Audrey yawned, stretching to turn on the bedside light. It was still dark out, but the first rays of sunlight were beginning to filter over the distant hills. She got out of bed and pulled on her plain black robes, flexing her sore legs. The Skele-gro had worked wonders on her broken legs, but there were still unpleasant prickles running up and down the unused muscles.   
  
"Cripes, I didn't think walking could be so difficult." Audrey moaned, creeping along slowly on her sore feet. She slowly made her way down to the Great Hall, where she grabbed one of the blueberry muffins the house-elves had just put out for the early risers. She wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and fastened the small silver clasp, heading out the door and across the dew-laden grounds.   
  
The crisp air stung her nostrils as she rapped sharply on Hagrid's front door. He answered immediately, Fang at his feet.  
  
"Who...oh, it's you, Audrey." Hagrid said, looking rather ragged and tired.  
  
"I'm sorry I came so early, Hagrid, but I need to tell you something." Audrey said, looking up into her friend's face. Hagrid nodded, egging her on.  
  
"My family.." Audrey began, looking at the floor.  
  
"You don't 'ave to say a word, Audrey. I understand." Hagrid replied.  
  
"You do?" Audrey said, looking up in surprise.  
  
"Yes, I had odd parents too, what was your father, a vampire? Werewolf?" Hagrid asked gently, looking at Audrey with sympathy. Audrey shook her head, looking down at the floor, embarassed.  
  
"No, I'm sorry to bother you, Hagrid. Thank you." Audrey said, getting up to leave.  
  
"For what?" Hagrid asked, opening the door for her.  
  
"Everything." she replied, and with a small smile, she was gone.  
  
~*~  
  
"Poppy, have you seen Miss Plossome today?" Filch asked politely, peering around the infirmary hopefully.  
  
"No, Argus. She left early this morning, but she should be back any time now, would you like to wait?" Pomfrey said, offering Filch a nearby chair.  
  
"No thank you, Poppy. I'll find her myself." Argus said, nodding goodbye to Madame Pomfrey and leaving the infirmary.  
  
~*~  
  
"Where is she?" a harsh, icy voice asked, booming down on a small, round man.  
  
"I don't know, your excellency." the man replied, trembling at the very sound of his master's voice.  
  
"Well FIND HER! Bring her here!" the voice commanded angrily, making the smaller man startle in fear and cower.  
  
  
"Yes, master."  
  
~*~  
  
Audrey walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching the sun rise with all its splendor.   
  
"It's going to be a beautiful day." she thought to herself, smiling and eating her blueberry muffin. She didn't notice the eyes in the underbrush watching her with interest.  
  
~*~  
  
Filch grabbed his best cloak and hurried outside to find Audrey. She was no where in sight, he searched everywhere and questioned Hagrid, but she was no where to be found.  
  
He was walking along a trail, following some footprints, when he stumbled on something. A muffin wrapper and a hairpin emblazoned with the letter "A". The footprints stopped on that exact spot, as if the owner had vanished into thin air. He scanned the entire area for more clues as to where she might have went, but all he found were a few sticks and stones, and one very large spider with huge eyes.  
  
~*~  
  
"Hagrid! Hagrid!" Filch called, running up to Hagrid's hut, clutching the wiggling spider in his arms. The spider clicked it's pinchers angrily, and bit Filch several times, but Filch held tight.  
  
"What?" Hagrid said, looking up from the pumpkins in his garden. His breath shone like a large cloud in front of him in the crisp morning air.  
  
"Au-Audrey has been...kidnapped..." Filch gasped, handing the spider to Hagrid. Hagrid looked at the spider for a while, listening hard.  
  
"Get Dumbledore." Hagrid said gruffly, following Argus inside.  
  
~*~  
  
"Where are they going?" Hermione asked, following the crowd of Gryffindor students out of the Entrance Hall. The entire school had gathered on the grounds at Professor Dumbledore's command. The separate houses stayed more or less separated, gathering in small groups and chatting away, waiting for an order from the Professors.  
  
"Attention." Dumbledore said solemnly, quieting all the students immediately. "Each of you is to remain in your common rooms for the remainder of the day. Do not cause trouble or leave your common rooms, this is of utter importance. Heads of Houses, gather your students and secure them in your rooms."  
  
With this last statement, the entire student population was herded back to their common rooms, wondering what in the blazes was going on.   
  
~*~  
  
"Minerva, Severus, you two apparate together into the Mongolian Forest. Hagrid, you and I will go to Cambridge, he was just spotted there a few days ago. Argus, can you apparate by yourself?" Dumbledore said calmly. Filch flushed and nodded.   
  
"I know just where to go, Professor." Filch said, "I may be a--" Filch trailed off.  
  
"You don't have to say it Argus." Dumbledore insisted, noticing the look of intense embarassment and anguish on his face.  
  
"No, I've been scared of it all my life. I'm a squib, but I can do simple things." Filch sighed, his face slowly returning to its normal shade of pale.  
  
~*~  
  
"Something is going on down there." Hermione stated, peering out the window onto the grounds near the Womping Willow, where Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid, Filch, McGonagall, and Snape were gathered, discussing something seriously and quickly. With one quick movement, they all apparated, disappearing into the sky.  
  
~*~  
  
Audrey awoke with a start, someone was tugging at her wrists. She opened her eyes, staring directly into a pair of brown ones.  
  
"Argus? You have to leave! You aren't supposed to be here!" she insisted, struggling away from his grasp as he attempted to untie her wrists. She was tied tightly to a straight-backed chair in a small, dark room, with only a single candle to light it.  
  
"No, you aren't." a cold voice said harshly from behind them. The icy voice sent tingles up and down Argus's spine, and Audrey went pale. "Audrey, perhaps you would like to explain this?"  
  
"Well, umm.." Audrey stalled meekly, searching for the right words, "This is Argus Filch. He came to help."  
  
"He did, did he? What can he help with?" the owner of the voice replied, a note of cruel amusement in his voice. The man reached out toward Argus, but Audrey interrupted.  
  
"Oh please don't kill him! He has done nothing!" Audrey pleaded with the man.  
  
"Nothing, you say? It seems as if he has done quite a bit if he has come after you." the man replied, looking at Audrey with glowing red eyes.  
  
"Argus, run. Get away from here, NOW." Audrey demanded under her breath.   
  
"I won't leave you." he whispered into her ear, standing firmly in front of her, shielding her from the shadowy figure.  
  
"Ha, how ironic. You've come to save the enemy, you insolent fool." the figure laughed, and with one quick wave of a wand, Audrey was untied and standing beside the figure. Her eyes were large and round, and pleaded with Argus silently to leave.  
  
"Wh-what do you mean?" Argus demanded fiercely, trying to sound brave.  
  
"You haven't told him, have you?" the man sneered, grabbing Audrey by the nape of her neck. She winced at the icy flesh on her neck, but did not make a sound.  
  
"Get your filthy hands off her!" Argus growled, looking at the man with fiery hatred.  
  
"Master, he didn't mean it! Don't harm him!" Audrey apologized quickly.  
  
"Master?" Argus repeated, sounding bewildered.  
  
"That is correct. I am Lord Voldemort." the man replied icily, sneering at Argus's frightened appearance. His eyes glowed blood red in the dim light, and Argus backed away slowly.  
  
"Yo-you let her go or you'll be s-s-sorry!" Argus stuttered, searching for his wand. He brought it out and pointed it at Voldemort's head.  
  
"You, a squib, expect to destroy the most powerful wizard of all time?" Voldemort laughed, tossing Audrey to the side. She slide across the cold stone floor and slammed into the wall, sliding down it unconsciously.  
  
"What do you want with her?" Argus demanded, regaining his composure. Voldemort looked down at him in interest, like a cat deciding to eat a mouse or just play with it a while.  
  
"Her? She is of little importance. She is to be my Queen. I must have an heir." Voldemort answered cruelly, raising the still-unconscious Audrey with his wand and bringing her to him. She floated in midair, dangling just before him, and he bent down to kiss her.  
  
"DON'T!" Argus interrupted just before their lips met.  
  
"How dare you?! You insolent little fool, do you honestly think you can stop me?" Voldemort cackled, kissing her deeply and sending her crashing to the floor once more. She muttered something in her stupor, but did not awaken.  
  
"I tire of you, leave or die." Voldemort demanded coldly, staring at Argus with disgust.  
  
"No, not without her." Argus stated, standing his ground.  
  
"Very well then, AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort stated calmly, raising his wand. At that very moment, Audrey awoke from her trance and sat up. Just as the flash of light left his wand, she realized what was going on and threw herself in front of Argus, taking the full blast of the spell. She fell to the ground, her eyes barely open.   
  
"Audrey, no! You can't leave me, I need you." Argus pleaded, watching his beloved's eyes droop.  
  
"Oh Argus, I had to. My body shall not be his temple any longer." Audrey whispered.  
  
"But I love you." Argus trailed off, tears forming in his eyes.  
  
"I did love you, Argus. Always remember that." Audrey muttered, her eyes merely slits in her pale face.   
  
"Apparatus." with her last breath on this earth, she sent him back to safety.  
  
~*~  
  
What did you think? That's as close as I'll probably ever come to angst, so I hope you enjoyed it. I cried when I wrote the ending. Cripes, I have no control over my emotions sometimes... Anywho, go review, please! See the little box below? It's very important that you fill it out! Now go do your job, and tell me if I've done mine! Be honest, but if you wanna flame please do it nicely (what an oxymoron, a nice flame..hehehe..I crack me up sometimes.). Now REVIEW! Don't make me beg!  
  
  
  
  



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